BALLOT LINK BELOW.......(Note: read THIS for explanation on the radically condensed categories for this year - from 30+ to just the 5 below).
You'll be prompted to fill in name, phone, & email....and then you'll be asked for nominees in the following categories:
Song of the Year
Album of the Year
Community Service Award
Lifetime Achievement
We will also have our panel vote on a Critics Choice Award.
We hope all will be back to normal by next year, so we'll have the 2022 awards back to 30+ categories, live event at the beautiful Lyric Theatre in downtown Lexington, KY (with musical performances and all the other splendor of past events), after-party, and much more! For now, it isn't as good as what you any of you deserve, but this is the best we can manage.
So....as much as I'd like to produce a full-fledged event again this year (30+ categories, 6 live acts, house band, full house, and much more), forcing the issue would be an irresponsible dis-service to musicians, music lovers, our sponsors, Lyric Theatre staff, and many others.
After much careful consideration (and no small degree of internal conflict), I have opted to cut the 2021 Lexi Music Awards to just a handful of categories and either a virtual or very small live event designed solely to present the awards.
My apologies to ALL of you. You deserve much better than I am able to manage in the current environment.
I am, I should note, waiting until the last possible moment to decide if we will hand the awards off in person or virtually or by some other means (such as traditional TV and/or radio broadcast). That decision will be dictated by everything from January-current COVID status & state/local mandates to cold, hard fiscal realities....but I will do the best my meager skills will allow.
The public ballot will only be available for a short time (details coming SOON - so keep your eyes peeled) and we will lean necessarily on a larger pro panel this year.
My heartfelt thanx to everyone for your continued support!
ALL OF US here at the Lexington Music Awards want to express our deepest sympathies to Devine Carama (multiple Lexi Award nominee and winner in multiple categories who has performed at both the awards show and several Lexi-Fest events, and whose work in the community - through several initiatives like the Coats for Kids project - is unparalleled) on the loss of his daughter, 18 year old Kamaria Spaulding, in a car accident yesterday on Bluegrass Parkway.
We cannot even imagine the depths of the loss you and your family have suffered.
May the care and love of those around you provide comfort and peace to get you through the dark days ahead......
“Waves are not measured in feet or inches, they are measured in increments of fear.” - Buzzy Trent
From an actual virus to viral behaviors, everyone has quickly and inescapably begun to feel the impact of what the World Health Organization declared, just a few days ago, a "global pandemic".
Locally, we've seen schools close, events cancelled, and panicked stockpile buying at Big Box stores and, unfortunately, a dramatic decrease in attendance at mom-n-pop establishments, from music venues to restaurants to coffee shops to smaller retail outlets....which threatens not only the hourly wage earners, but the owners, performers, sound-techs, and more....and, by extension, the entire community.
Everyone is being effected, but here at the Lexi Music Awards & Lexi-Fest Concert Series, we just want to give solemn nod to our brothers & sisters in the music & arts community (and the entire support structure for that community) as we all figure out how to navigate this swiftly changing landscape.
But it is noted that venues are now doing no-audience streaming concerts; eateries have moved to take-out & curb-side service, individual artists are employing play-by-request videos, live streaming "living room concerts", chat-room based open mics, and the like; music instructors resorting to technology for a platform-various "virtual lessons"; and much more.
So there is a ray of sunshine in this stressful time.
This piece at SD Universe expresses our concerns, and we hope everyone - while traversing the rough waters of our personal struggles in this time - takes time to reach out to our music peers and neighbors who also need a hand.
And if you're reading this, you are already at the official blog (which you can also "follow").
There is no official YouTube channel, but some awards informational videos will be posted at the YouTube link below (the what, whys, and hows), so be sure to subscribe there.
Kailie Settles playing fabulously at the preshow in the lobby!
We're still getting photos and video of the 6th Lexi Music Awards show that took place January 26, 2020 at the historic Lyric Theatre in downtown Lexington, KY.
But our official videographer is Jay Hamon - and Jay has captured the last 2 years on video for us.
Huge thanx to Jay and all his hard work! The entire 13 video playlist is below....
WHAT AN AMAZING EVENING! The flu struck down 4 presenters, one team leader, several guides, and one performer.....so the incredible Chester Grundy opened the show with a few words, Kristy Beers stepped in on hours notice to perform an incredible flute piece in Whit's absence, Caroline & Autumn stepped in to organize the backstage madness, Greg Francis and Kat Green even climbed the rafters (literally) and pulled their best Macyver to hang the banners, the Lyric tech crew did their magic in record time, Teresa Moberly, Marcie Timmerman, & Angelee Feltner took up all my slack, our presenters did double duty....and it all came together!
Dr Everett McCorvey - Lifetime Achievement recipient!
Probably the rowdiest crowd yet - haha! - and the Mojo Tones fed that with their raucous brand of the blues as our house band! We also had stunning performances from Kailie Settles, Phoebe White, Liza Binford & Vanessa Davis, Ivy Rye, Kristy Beers (as mentioned above) the LaFayette HS Drum Line, who marched in from the back of the theater and played in the aisles!
Bill Meck and Angie Beavin of WLEX did an incredible job, as always, giving the event equal parts class and humor, with an array of fabulous presenters (Drew Curtis of Fark.Com fame, Max Corona & Jay Alexander from WBVX & WBTF, David Helmers of Railbird Festival, Deadair Dennis & Beerman, Autumn Barber of Lex Community Orchestra, Pamula Hounchell of Fashionable Measures, Twitch & MJ from Z-103, Leigh Roach & Tamara Schneider of KY Tastebuds) that even saw Drew bringing out his daughter to read the names of nominees!
It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of Tony Briggs, one of 4 recipients of the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Awards from The Lexington Music Awards, and it is the deepest of condolences we extend to his wife Kelli, his daughter Sarah, his musical comrades, and friends.
Tony was a musician, a promoter, an absolute connoisseur of music (especially punk) with encyclopedic knowledge of music history and music culture. Starting in the 1980s, Tony sang in bands from Vale of Tears to No Excuse and also was instrumental in bringing many cutting edge bands to Lexington; was instrumental in building what became a massive underground music scene in the entire region; was instrumental in spreading kindness and knowledge and making music a force for positivity and light. Stories of his impact on individuals as a human being are as legend as his musical endeavors.
This Monday I spoke to Tony. It was the day we announced the Lifetime Achievement recipients for 2020, and I called to tell him he had been selected (recipients are selected by both pro panel and popular vote) after Steve Baron (CD Central) had connected us. He sounded fabulous and never mentioned his illness or hardships. He was, as always, kind and gracious and, whatever he thought of the very concept of music awards, was thoughtful and complimentary, and then turned the conversation from the logistics of the event (arrival time, tickets, acceptance speak parameters, etc) to ask how I was doing and how wonderful the area musicians were and, well, everyone else rather than making the conversation about him.
I didn't know Tony personally at all - we had only crossed paths a couple of times many years ago. But I know those who voted for him for the Lifetime Achievement Award (and there were clearly many) spoke passionately and vehemently about how deserving he was and how much he had done (often at great personal expense) for the music scene. And none more vocal than NP Presley, who is also a tireless student and proponent of music & music culture, and who sang Tony's praises and argued his case in a manner that would make Daniel Webster proud.
So it with heavy heart that we all learn of Tony's shuffling off this mortal coil.
But it is with happy heart that we remember him and the immeasurable legacy he leaves.
The 6th Lexington Music Awards show will be held Sunday, January 26, 2020, at 6pm at the Lyric Theatre in downtown Lexington, KY, and MCed brilliantly by again Bill Meck and Angie Beavin of WLEX-TV.
The show typically lasts about 2 hours, and the 2020 show will feature stellar musical performances, celebrity presenters, presenter guides from the Lexington Fashion Collaborative, and over 30 categories covering music industry, performance, style, and a "specials" section (Critics Choice, Lifetime Achievement, Album and Song of the Year, & more).
Following the event, the after-party will be hosted by Ranada's Bistro & Bar at 400 Old Vine (bring your dancing shoes!). Ranada will have a few surprises lined up, so don't miss it!
Performers include:
Mojo Tones (the 2020 Lexi Awards house band)
Phoebe White
Liza Binford & Vanessa Davis
LaFayette HS Drum Line
Ivy Rye
Whit Whitaker
Kallie Settles (pre-show)
And the 2020 Lifetime Achievement recipients are:
LaFayette HS Marching Band Tony Briggs (Vale of Tears, & more) Ed Commons (Red Barn Radio) Everett McCorvey (UK Opera)